Pet Talk

Treasure rediscovered mending pasture fence

Wow, this winter continues to tease us with an abundance of relatively nice days. My wife and I have taken advantage of these days, especially those we are not working, to be enjoying the outdoors.

As with most of our days, life revolves around something to do with our pets or farm animals. Recently after feeding and watering the ewes and new lambs, we chose to conquer some fence mending in order to let our old mare Punkin back out in the back pasture. She had totally destroyed her paddock, and as my wife put it, "just looks old."

I guess she was bored, and like a lot of us in mid-winter, needed a change of venue.

If you have ever owned a horse, you know that eventually they, like sheep, will eat all the grass down to the dirt level. If you do not supplement their appetite with enough good hay, they go searching for greener pastures.

In our mare's case, she had about two or three acres of fenced pasture for grazing pleasure, and she finished it up in about three seasons. A lush stand of grasses existed on the other side of the well-placed woven wire fence with a double strand of barbed wire at the top. Did that fence keep her from chasing her passion to indulge her appetite? No and with her appetite went the destruction of the fence. That's horses.

We got together our supplies and a few stray strands of barbed wire to fix the broken wires. As we began, I was again reminded of the absolute quiet of the wood in the winter. My wife mentioned the lack of birds and insects as the reason. Besides the occasional jet coming in to the Kansas City airport or a nearby but distant train horn, it was quiet.

This was the treasure to be found in a busy, hectic life we lead. The soothing effect of the fence of the backwoods and prairie were the balm of our spirits. Even the activities of our three dogs were not a distraction to the serenity that abounds just behind our home.

The fence was a mess, but repairable. We used muscles we had no idea existed. It was amazing to me, but our mare had pushed the edge of her domain at least three or five feet beyond the fence line.

My wife had a good idea, though. This year, we sprayed herbicide on the outside of the fence. Maybe we'll have less fence mending.

After enjoying the relative solitude of the mare's pasture, I was really not sure the herbicide was the remedy. Maybe occasional trips to the back pasture were just what the doctor ordered for this couple.

About the time we were about to finish, I was called away to see a sick dog at the clinic. I left Lea to finish up. When I returned home, I peered out back to see the mare relaxed and standing almost asleep. It would appear the back pasture and woods had the same affect on both of us. Funny how today we took a lesson from a horse?